• Looks at witnesses' reports as well as the theories of skeptics, revealing how UFOs represent a call from the cosmos to expand our understanding of reality
• Explores UFO encounters against the backdrop of visionary experience-angelic visitations, near-death experiences, shamanic journeys, and religious miracles
• Shares the author's UFO discussions with late Harvard psychiatrist John Mack, philanthropist Laurance S. Rockefeller, and astronaut Edgar Mitchell
In case after case related to UFO encounters and other unknown aerial phenomena (UAP), the same impasse is reached: testimony from witnesses on one side, dismissive responses from the authorities on the other. In the fertile void of this deadlock, however, lie extraordinary possibilities about the nature of mind and matter, spirit and soul, transforming the UFO into a celestial, metaphysical event.
Focusing on the possibilities found by exploring both sides of the UFO debate, veteran UFO observer and reporter Keith Thompson shares profound insights and experiences from his several decades of research, revealing that the UFO phenomenon is decidedly real yet perhaps not what either side of the debate expects. He looks at UFOs as a genuine unknown, from outer space or manifesting from hidden dimensions, as well as the theories of skeptics and debunkers who insist that UFOs can be explained as hoaxes, hallucinations, or misidentified phenomena. He explores the modern flying saucer era against the backdrop of visionary experience-angelic visitations, near-death experiences, shamanic journeys, religious miracles, and fairy tales-and shows how UFOs are simultaneously physical and spiritual, presenting a form of intelligence capable of altering the perceptions of witnesses.
Chronicling his own investigations into the UFO mystery, the author details how he introduced the late Harvard psychiatrist John Mack to accounts of alien abduction and how he was invited by philanthropist Laurance S. Rockefeller to lobby then-president Bill Clinton to disclose government-held UFO information. Sharing stories from his friendship with astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, among others, the author recounts discussions on how best to interpret UFOs and non-ordinary phenomena of various kinds.
Thompson reveals how the UFO phenomenon ultimately represents a call from the cosmos for humanity to open to greater dimensions of reality and recognize that our understanding of the universe is still far from complete. Keith Thompson is an author, independent journalist, talk radio host, former TV talk show host, and former U.S. Senate staff member. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Esquire, San Francisco Chronicle, Idaho Statesman, and the Pacific Sun. The author of Angels and Aliens and Leaving the Left, he lives in northwest Florida. Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Wording, Method, Sources
2 What Kenneth Arnold Really Saw
3 A Modern Saga Takes Shape
4 Morning in Zimbabwe
5 Detecting Signals of Transcendence
6 The Rockefeller Disclosure Initiative
7 The Alien Abduction Impasse
8 Who Do We Think We Are?
9 The Bigelow Factor
10 Musing on the Future of Reality
11 The Matter of Pascagoula
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index "A meticulously researched exploration into unidentified aerial phenomena, adopting at times a scientific lens, a philosopher's perspective, and a journalist's scrutiny. Thompson's multi-lensed approach underscores the complexities and challenges inherent in the study of a phenomenon that is trying to tell us something important. Are we prepared to listen?" "Human experience is either real or unreal. It is either objective or subjective, this-worldly or other-worldly. No, it is not! Human experience is often far more complex and difficult to fathom than we are to imagine. Thompson knows this and shows it. The UFO Paradox is an effective antidote to easy explanations, simple binaries, old habits of reasoning, and
